


i'll do it all for you in time

by youwerefantasticrose



Category: Fringe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-03-31
Packaged: 2018-01-17 17:16:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1396081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youwerefantasticrose/pseuds/youwerefantasticrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU: Peter and Olivia meet at a college party.</p><p>
  <i>"Do you ever let your hair down?"</i>
</p><p>
  <i>The look she gives him would make a lesser man quake in his sneakers, but Peter just laughs.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	i'll do it all for you in time

He's already dropped out of MIT, the ink on his fake diploma barely dry, but that's not going to stop him from getting a little more out of his college experience. He's in Evanston visiting an old 'friend', a guy a year ahead of him who always called him 'bro' and whom he never really liked. But his family is rich as hell and this kid doesn't appreciate it, making him a perfect mark in Peter's eyes.

And of course this is where the idiot takes him, to a college party at Northwestern, even though he's already been out of school a year. This guy will clearly be yearning for his college years long after they're a distant memory. 

"Awesome, right?" the guy, ironically named Mark, shouts in Peter's ear over the loud music. He's really gonna make Peter work for this con, apparently.

Ten minutes in and Mark's disappeared into the crowded dance floor, leaving Peter alone.

He grabs a beer and finds a spot against the wall, surveying the party over the rim of his red plastic cup. It's typical, full of drunk college kids having what they think is the time of their lives. He feels a little jealous, at the easy fun they're having, but it's easily overcome when a girl stumbles past him, spilling her beer and narrowly missing his shoes. He rolls his eyes, watching the girl pass him, almost spilling again, and that's when he sees her.

She's blonde, hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, leaning against the opposite wall much like him, red cup in hand. She's dressed in black jeans and a sweater, an outfit very different from the short skirts that fill the room. She looks bored, and he immediately sympathizes. Plus, she's gorgeous, so that helps.

He makes his way around the crowd, receiving a few elbows to his side as he passes. He sidles up next to the girl, leaning against the wall beside her. She glances at him, but doesn't say anything, just takes a sip of her beer.

"Do I know you?" he asks, turning to face her. "You seem really familiar."

She rolls her eyes hugely before she turns to face him. 

"Nope." And then she turns away.

He likes her already.

"Sorry," he says. "These parties aren't really my scene."

She looks at him again, and her face has softened a little.

"Me neither," she says. "My roommate dragged me along. I think she's in a bedroom somewhere."

He nods knowingly. "Been there."

Her eyes widen, and she smirks a little.

"Not there, but here. In your position. With my friends." He actually blushes a little, and he can't believe himself. Peter Bishop, stumbling over his words talking to a girl? What is this, seventh grade?

Luckily, she's still standing there, laughing at him a little as he tries to 

recover.

"I'm Olivia."

She holds out a hand to him, and he takes it, holding it a moment too long as their eyes meet.

"Peter."

\---

"So what are you studying?" he asks.

"Psychology and criminal justice," she replies, taking a sip of her beer.

"Ah, that seems about right."

She raises an eyebrow at him.

"You seem like the cop type, that's all."

"What about you?" she asks, after a moment.

"What about me?"

"What are you studying?"

He chuckles, seeming to weigh his words before he says them.

"Business," he decides, grinning at her like he's in on a joke she wouldn't understand.

"Right," she smirks at him. "I see."

She holds his gaze for a moment when he gives her a questioning look.

"You seem like the criminal type, that's all," she says, and then she smiles, a real one, and he feels it in his gut, the way it spreads across her face, her eyes lighting up, and _oh, shit, he's already half in love with her_. 

"Am I that obvious?" 

"Maybe just to me."

\---

"So I'm working on my thesis right now. It's about the psychology of serial killers. This is the first time I've been out in weeks."

"God, that sounds intense."

"Yeah. It's a lot of work, but that's kind of how I am."

"Do you ever let your hair down?"

The look she gives him would make a lesser man quake in his sneakers, but Peter just laughs.

She's surprised, and she looks away, but not before he notices the little smile she's trying to hide. She reaches up and pulls out her ponytail, her blond hair catching the dim light as it fans out over her shoulders. 

\---

"This beer is terrible," he says after his third one. They've found a spot on a questionably clean sofa, chatting about school and other small talk stuff. He keeps accidentally telling her the truth. His real name, real stories. He's usually better than this, lies coming easier to him than the truth, especially when he's working a con, but there's something about her that's keeping him talking, keeping him honest.

"Yeah," she agrees. She hesitates for a second, studying his face, and he waits. She seems to make a decision, and then she leans in a little, her voice low. "I have some scotch in my room."

He's surprised. "Yeah?"

She nods, and then stands up. She reaches out to help him up, and he tries to blame the fizzing in his brain on the alcohol, not her skin on his.

"Let me grab my coat."

He does, wrapping his scarf around his neck as they make their way out of the house.

"It's about a ten minute walk," she say, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Did you not bring a jacket?"

She laughs. "Nope."

He starts to shrug his off, but she stops him with a hand on his arm. 

"I'm fine, really."

He takes a step closer to her, and she stops, her eyes searching his, their breaths visibly mingling in the cold air. He reaches up and unwinds his scarf from his neck, and moves it to hers, wrapping it a few times until it's snugly around her neck.

"Thanks." She smiles up at him, and he doesn't say anything back, just looks at her, a soft smile on his lips. A shout suddenly comes from back inside the party, and they both jump, the moment broken.

They make the trek to her apartment, laughing as he tells her a story about a misadventure in the robotics lab at MIT.

"So, science," she says as she unlocks her door and shows him inside, waving him towards the couch. "That makes more sense than business."

He sits down, watching her as she gets two glasses and fills them each with a few fingers of scotch.

"Yeah," he says, as she sits down next to him, handing him his drink. "But I'm done with it now."

She doesn't push him, just waits, and he's unspeakably grateful. And suddenly he's talking, telling her about his childhood, his father, things he's never told anyone, things he's never even said aloud, and she listens.

"So I quit school," he finishes, and he downs his whole drink. "I don't want to end up like him."

She reaches over and takes his hand, and now it's her turn. She tells him about her mother, how hard it was when she lost her, her stepfather, and growing up too fast, and how she wants to be a cop because she wants to help people, to save them from the things she's seen, and to bring justice to people who deserve it. 

They're both quiet for a while after that, their hands still linked. 

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" she says after a while, and he nods. She puts on some cheesy horror movie he's never heard of. It's weird how normal this feels to him, sitting on the couch laughing at a stupid movie with this girl he's just met, his arm around her shoulders and her head on his chest.

Next thing he knows it's morning and the sun's in his eyes. Olivia is still curled up in his side, and he smiles down at her, kissing the top of her head.

She stirs, and opens her eyes, looking up at him sleepily.

"Hi."

She doesn't do this, ever, but this feels different, waking up with Peter, and so she smiles back.

"Hi."

\---

She has class, so they have a quick cup of coffee and then she walks him downstairs.

They stand at the door, not sure what to say besides goodbye.

"Thanks," he says, reaching for her hand and squeezing it.

"You too," she says, and then she lets go. He nods, swallowing his disappointment, and steps away.

"Peter," she says, and he turns back, and she steps up on tiptoe and presses her lips to his. He responds immediately, his hands going to her waist, and it feels like a first kiss but it doesn't. It's like they've done it a million times, but somehow still new and hurried and perfect. Her mouth opens under his, and she nibbles his lip, and his hands tighten on her. 

They kiss for what feels like forever yet it still ends too quickly, and then they pull back, both breathless.

"See you," he says.

"You better."

It isn't until he's three streets away that he even remembers about his con. 

\---

She's in the middle of class when her phone buzzes.

_I forgot my scarf._

She vaguely remembers programming her number into Peter's phone last night, and she sends a mental thank you to last night Olivia for doing so.

_You can come get it. Tonight?_

_I'll bring dinner_ , comes the reply.

She laughs out loud, forgetting where she is.

"Miss Dunham?"

The whole class is looking at her, and she tries to wipe the smile off her face, but she can't.

"Sorry."

 _You better_ , she types under the desk.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Ed Sheeran's Lego House.


End file.
